Hydro-Jetting vs. Snaking: What's the Difference?

A drain snake — also called an auger — is a steel cable with a cutting head that drills through a blockage. It's fast, effective for most residential clogs, and the right tool for a simple obstruction. When you call us for a backed-up kitchen sink or a slow bathroom drain, a snake is usually what we reach for first.

Hydro-jetting is different. It uses water at 3,000 to 4,000 PSI delivered through a specialized nozzle to scour the interior walls of the pipe — not just punch through the clog, but remove the grease, scale, and debris that have been building up on the pipe walls for years.

Think of it this way: a snake clears the road. Hydro-jetting repaves it.

We recommend hydro-jetting in three situations: when a drain has been snaked multiple times and keeps backing up, when a camera inspection shows significant grease or scale buildup on the pipe walls, and as preventive maintenance for commercial kitchens and restaurants where grease accumulation is constant.

Hydro-jetting is not appropriate for every pipe. Old clay tile or severely deteriorated cast iron can be damaged by high-pressure water. That's why we always camera-inspect before we jet — we need to know what we're working with. If the pipe can't handle jetting, we'll tell you and recommend the right alternative.